I'm trying to get my blue Victron charge controllers to work, but I'm having a hard time because I don't think I have enough wattage from my homemade solar panels. I'm working with 12V batteries and I've been building the panels from solar cells. While I manage to get enough voltage, the wattage is way below what I need. I've been posting here for help, but I'd really love to see what setups others have, especially if they're successfully using a Victron charge controller. If you have a working solar panel system, could you please share pictures or links to your panels?
3 Answers
Using DIY panels can be tricky and it's probably a big part of the issue here. Manufacturers design panels specifically to work with controllers like your Victron. If that's the case, your problem isn't likely with the Victron itself, but rather with your homemade panels—check your setup carefully!
It looks like you might be overestimating your setup. Ensure you have a complete system with your charge controller connected to both a battery and a load that is consuming power, like your fish tank. Have you thought about trying a commercially available solar panel for troubleshooting? It might help you pinpoint if the issue is with your DIY panels.
It sounds like you're getting some voltage but not the amps you need. Just to check, are you using matching cells in series and pooling them in parallel? If the cells are of varying quality, the weakest one might hold back the entire string. It’s crucial to ensure you're testing under full sunlight too! Also, how are you wiring them up? That can affect your output a lot.
Yeah, most of the panels I can find are around 300W, while my Victron can only handle up to 145W at 12V, which makes it tricky. For now, I'm just connecting the panels to the controller and then to the battery. Should I connect to the Load port instead?